Casey Anthony reports to Florida probation officer

August 25, 2011

TALLAHASSEE (AP) - Florida authorities said Thursday that Casey Anthony was polite and cooperative during a meeting with her probation officer and pledged to meet the conditions of her one-year probation for check fraud.

The 25-year-old Anthony, who has remained hidden since a jury acquitted her of killing her daughter, met with the officer for more than an hour Wednesday evening at an undisclosed location as she begin her probation. But citing death threats against her, state officials said they will not reveal her location, including the county where she will serve her probation for the unrelated charge.

"She told the probation officer that she intended to do well on probation, she was polite and cooperative," said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections.

Anthony has been in hiding since being set free last month after a jury found her not guilty of murder in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. But a legal battle then commenced over whether she still needed to serve her probation.

Anthony's attorneys argued she already had completed it while in jail awaiting her murder trial. The Fifth District Court of Appeals disagreed with the argument that enforcing the probation order would violate the constitutional prohibition on double jeopardy.

Circuit Judge Stan Strickland said in January 2010 that Anthony should serve probation after her release from jail. She had pleaded guilty to stealing checks from a friend. His instructions never made it into a written order and corrections officials interpreted the sentence to mean Anthony could serve the probation while she was in jail.

In an order this month, Strickland clarified that Anthony must begin her probation now that she is out of jail. He then recused himself from the case and turned it over to Judge Belvin Perry, who presided over Anthony's murder trial. Perry upheld Strickland's order, and Anthony's attorneys appealed last week to the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Daytona Beach. The appeals court denied a request that would have stopped her from being forced to start probation by the end of the week.

Anthony showed up at a state probation office at around 6 p.m. Wednesday. Plessinger said the probation officer went over the list of conditions Anthony must follow. She said that Anthony told the probation officer she understood the requirements.

The terms of Anthony's probation require her to physically report to her probation officer no later than the fifth day of each month and that she cannot change her residence or job - if she finds one - without permission. She would also need permission if she wanted to relocate to another state in the next year. She also cannot carry or possess a gun without permission and she is supposed to "work diligently" at a lawful occupation.

But Plessinger noted that thousands of people now on probation in Florida are without a job because it is difficult for them to find employment because of a criminal conviction. The state currently has a 10.7 percent unemployment rate. She said Anthony could choose to go to school - including an online school - while serving her probation instead of seeking a job. Anthony has not yet made a request, however, to go to school.

Perry's order gave the Department of Corrections the discretion to keep confidential information on Anthony's location. Florida authorities have chosen to keep secret not only where she is living but the name of her probation officer and the location of her probation office.

Plessinger insisted that this did not mean that Florida was giving special treatment to Anthony. State officials, for example, will not escort her to and from her home to the probation office.

"We will not be disclosing the location or anything that might lead to the discovery of her location, but she will be treated like every other offender," she said.